How The Hip Hop Dance "The Wop" Was Danced in The 1980s/1990s & How It Was Danced In The Early 2020s , Part I

Max, Jan 13, 2018

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision - title change June 21, 2023

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series about the 1980s/1990s Hip Hop "Wop" dance.

This post showcases two film clips of 1980s footage of the Wop dance. This post also showcases one instructional video of the Wop and one video performance of this dance by a man who remembers it from the 1980s. 

The Addendum of this post showcases two TikTok compilation and one YouTube video short that document some ways that the "Wop" was danced in the early 2020s. 

The titles of some 2020s videos also document how the dance name "Wop" has been changed to "Drop it ti the floor" or "Drop it ti the floor and lean"). Those words are lyrics in the "Wop" dance track and reflect the portion of that song that is used in those abbreviated YouTube and Tik Tok clips. Also, since at least 2022, I've come across a few TikTok compilations and YouTube vido shorts that use the word "Wap" instead of "Wop" for this dance.

I believe that these changes to the name of this dance reflect people's desire to distance that dance name from the fact that word "wop" is a pejorative referent for Italians. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/12/memories-of-1980s-wop-dance-other.html  for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post showcases a 1986 video of Hip Hop artist Doug E. Fresh that include scenes of people doing the Wop. That post also presents selected comments from the discussion threads for the two YouTube videos of 1980s "Wop" that are showcased in Part I of this series.

The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all the composers of these songs and thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on African American dances with the name "Wop". Click the tag below for other pancocojams posts in this series.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/12/timeline-of-wop-records-significant.html for my editorial comment in the Addendum to that post that presents my theory that the origin of the dance name "Wop" comes from about the word "doo-wop. 

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ADDITIONAL SHOWCASE VIDEOS OF HOW THE WOP WAS DANCED IN 1980s /1990s

SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - B FATS WOP DANCE



David Huie, July 7, 2017

B FATS the WOP DANCE live at Tbe Apollo for Eric B and Rakim 30th Anniversary celebration at the Apollo Theater in NYC
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SHOWCASE #3 - How to Do the Wop | Hip-Hop Dancing

Howcast, Sep 22, 2012  How to Do Hip-Hop Dance Moves

Okay. So we got the Wop we're working on now. Another dance from a little back in the day, right? So we're going to start, feet apart, knees bent. The Wop, we're going to just get the groove first. The Wop has an up groove, right? So we're going to accent up. Accent up. Just bending my knees but the stronger motion's up. Up, up, up, up.

Tricky thing is you're arms are opposite. So you go down, arms come up. You go up, arms go down. Swing, like you're swinging a baseball bat, kind of. And, and, and, and you get your head in the game. Boom, boom, boom, boom. You can move your feet. You can step. Step, step, step, step over, and back. Back, and over.

That's the Wop. That's the Wop with a partner you can slap hands. There you go with the Wop. Let's try it with some music.

There you go. Wop it out. Wop it out.

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SHOWCASE #4 -  . Tony - The Wop, The Cabbage Patch & The Prep

DJ Tony Vito, Apr 20, 2007

Yes, that's me, kickin' old school moves .... 80's lives on!  The third step in this video is a dance we used to call the Raindance at Bentleys on 40th and Madison;  I've since found out that it is better known as The Prep.
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DJ Tony responded to the question "Where's the Wop?" (in this video) with the time stamp of .33 to :55.

DJ Tony Vito is a light skinned African American. For the socio-cultural record, I included some discussion thread comments on his race that other people wrote and Tony Vito responded to in Part II of this pancocojams series.  

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ADDENDUM  - EXAMPLES OF WAYS THE WOP IS DANCED IN 2023

EXAMPLE #1: Drop It To The Floor Then Wop Challenge Dance Compilation #dance #tiktok #challenge

One Challenge, Sep 26, 2023

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EXAMPLE #2 - The Wop Dance - Best TikTok Dance Compilation 



Tik Tok Dance, May 24, 2022

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EXAMPLE #3 - 
 

@MarieBustinMoves, September 8, 2023

Evolution of dance. The Wop tells you what to do, so dance how your body allows you to move. #life
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The words on the screen indicate that this is a mother/daughter duo.

The mother wearing white clothes does the old school (1980s/1990s) Wop while her daughter does the 2022/2023 moves for that dance.

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This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.

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